Thanks so much to the W5 team for launching us into the emerging markets universe and setting a high bar for those that follow! Just a reminder that your A1 is due shortly and that I’m available for any questions you might have surrounding your delivery of this. Please email your A1 to me directly […]
Continue reading W5 BlogKudos Posted in: Announcements, Emerging Markets Poll, Week 05: Hi everyone – By now, each of you will have got a separate email introducing you to your team members for the EMT assignments (A2) for weeks 5-12 of the course. Please let me know immediately if you haven’t received your team assignment, or if you have any questions. In brief, the EMT schedule looks […]
Continue reading Poll Results and A2 EMT Assignments Posted in: Announcements, Emerging Markets Poll When UBC MET was created it was the first of its kind, now there are a number of similar graduate programs. As part of normal academic process a formal internal-external review of MET has just begun – this qualifies it as an ’emerging market’ because all of its many possibilities and opportunities are on […]
Continue reading Masters of Education Technology Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
With the expansion of technology in the workplace, coupled with the expectation that employees be highly educated (credential-wise) and a persistent expectation that employees are engaging in professional development opportunities, I think there is a lot of room for expansion in the MET program – specializations, PhD’s and much more.
I agree with your ideas, Lisa. I believe that the MET program is not a revolution in the e-learning but a massive continuation of a revolution in the digital-based learning. There no doubt things will not stop at the MET program or similar programs. The program is paving the way towards a complex net of innovative e-learning platforms. I personally believe that future MET programs will require a comprehensive knowledge of programming. And that means the expansion will not be horizontal but vertical as well.
I love the way we are referred to as consumers. I totally agree with this terminology but sometimes forget that these are how students are seen from a marketing perspective. I initially earned my post-bacc diploma in Teacher Librarianship and instead of working towards my Masters in that field, I chose the MET pathway and it seems that the way in which public K-12 school is heading in BC, that this was probably the more appropriate field for a teacher librarian looking to advance their education.
Hello,
I believe there is a lot of room for expansion within the MET program and think that it could possibly branch out as K-12 and adult education. I agree with you as well Lisa that this MET program could also expand to specialized PhD’s. I would be particularly interested in seeing the MET program further explore and develop a holistic approach to online learning.
Hello,
I, too, think that there is much room within the MET programme to allow for greater specialization. While I have enjoyed this programme immensely, I would appreciate the opportunity to delve further into more specialized areas. MET only scratches the surface of educational technology opportunity, and I feel that there would be no shortage of interest in PhD’s in any number of areas.
~Kim
MET, and other courses, offer excellent grounding in a growing area. I think it caters well to K12 but coould expand to offer specialisation eg. in adult education, and definitely PhD. Continuing professional education opportunities should also be offered to support the number of educators completing these courses and as technologies rapidly emerge and our learning environments change.
I think it would be an excellent opportunity to create a PhD program out of the MET programme. I agree with Denise that it’s been a long time coming for the program to offer areas of specialty. There is an excellent PhD online distance education program from San Jose State University’s Library and Information Science program that has attracted students from across the world. I see an opportunity for the Faculty of Education to do the same!
Allan
The backbone of Digital Identity is the ability to employ a single, private, secure identity system as the key to enter any number of applications and environments you might have access to. In broader strokes however, especially in education, it can encompasses the ownership (by the learner) of the learning experience and the authority to […]
Continue reading Digital Identity Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
Although I realize how important digital identity is, whether it is for ventures or directly linked to educational technology, I must say I evade it like the plague, for I find there are so many political battles related to digital identity. I find that to get interested in this subject one really has to delve into the politics of digital identity and I personally find this extremely complex. I do try to respect digital identity when using online material and hope others do the same with my own work, but that is as far (for now) as my interest goes on this subject.
Marie-France
Marie-France
I think the digital identity for the time being hails or paves the way towards creating a relentlessly materialized approached to education. Realistic modifications have to be introduced to the field in order to make it suitable for the fast-growing world of digital information and for the real needs of users (people).
Hussain
Digital identity sounds like a good concept but I would always question how secure the “secure” system would be.
A few years ago Open Source was a real buzz – the future of software well beyond education. While the movement is still very active, the breakthrough promise hasn’t been realized. Yet. There are many who believe that the critical mass of openness – including new dimensions such as Open Data, Open Licenses, Open Innovation, […]
Continue reading Open Source Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
Although ahead of the times, open source is just too tantalizing and revolutionary to not be at the forefront of my interest. With more and more computer programmers and other professionals creating free software, products and services in their spare time, open source is becoming the new way to give back to society and opens endless possibilities for the future.
I have been an OSS fan for some time and feel that it should be a consideration when acquiring new software. Many boards won’t touch anything OSS for the lack of a single entity in the way of support, communication, liability, etc. There is a compromise with the use use of VARs (Value Added Resellers) to help with planning, deployment, and support, but this is still a somewhat incomplete solution for many organizations.
With the proliferation of devices, apps, services, software applications, many of which are ‘homegrown’ a change of ‘perspective’ will be required to take advantage on a broader scale of available resources available to us via OSS.
Personalized Learning has been been a dream of educators forever, one that is reaching a tipping point in terms of the technologies available for realistic implementations. This marketplace opens to data-driven evaluation enabling learning experiences that cater to individual students learning styles and needs. Opportunity Statement While the venture prospects for Personalized Learning are awesome […]
Continue reading Personalized/Adaptive Learning Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
As the school I teach at caters to students with learning difficulties, each student has a different learning profile and as well this it the direction the ministry of education is shifting, so by having strategies in tools in place a school can shore up their section of a market, and as an individual it gives room for development as a consultant.
As an Administrator in post-secondary, there is more and more demand for us, as an academic unit to be as accommodating to all people as much as possible. I think that, with this demand, there are lots of opportunities (venture-wise) for technologies to address this.
Some companies are employing algorithms (Grockit, Khan) to create a highly adaptive and individual learning experience. Great market potential and lots of room for discussion as the idea could promote test mania.
The ever-evolving affordances of technology have the capability of moving online education from “read this, answer that” status to truly interactive, personalized opportunities. As the demand for online education grows, this area has the potential to grow exponentially.
Adaptive learning seems to fit in with the idea of universal design for learning. If you’re not familiar with the concept, it means that learning materials are adapted for use by many, not just those with special needs. That means it’s more likely to get used in a class room than technology that has to be implemented for a single student. The need for adaptive learning seems to be immense. However, one major obstacle I see is the huge amount of time needed to develop content that is sufficient for a broad range of knowledge levels (developmentally disabled to gifted).
Finding ways to appeal to every student presents a challenge that technology may be highly able to meet, if the right people are at the wheel. Presenting education as a one on one relationship catered to individuals turns it into more than an assembly line and creates a dynamic opportunity for advancement.
The ability to be more selective and autonomous as a student is appealing in today’s world. This opening of educational choice through the use of technology can be a motivating factor for many of our high school students who seem to lack it under the (often) straight-jacket opportunities they have. Self-paced opportunities will allow more students to be successful in more challenging areas.
The classical approach to learning has failed to give a chance to learners to choose the way they like to learn and as a result of that many educators feel they are ready to adopt any different approach that can break this rigidity in education. I think this project is important.
Hussain
It would be my dream job to design and work on a project\program that provides personalized adaptive learning. Although I am presently a FSL teacher, my interests are not limited to teaching languages, but I would be interested in developing a program that caters to adult individuals.
In researching e-portfolios for another course, I discovered Personal Learning Environments (PLEs). PLEs go far beyond e-portfolios as they include the integration of a whole host of web 2.0 tools for students to reach learning goals and present evidence of their learning through a variety of multimedia tools that suits their particular learning style and their educational interests. PLEs are definitely something I would be interested in exploring further.
For more information see the following websites: http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Personal_learning_environment and http://www.educause.edu/Resources/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutPerso/171521.
In the corporate sector IT managers are trying to cope with the ‘impossible’ situation that workers are insisting on coming to work, and doing their work, with their own mobile and work devices (Bring Your Own Device – BYOD), creating (for the managers, they say) a tsunami of technology management, security, etc, problems. For the […]
Continue reading BYOD Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
My school is moving in the direction of BYOD. I have blogged on the topic http://whatsitinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2012/03/bringing-your-own-technology-to-school.html and am interested in the contrast between our mixed platform environment and schools that have chosen platform for their users: are there significant impacts on learning when users are responsible for selecting and maintaining their devices?
Our school has laid the footings for a BYOD school but have not taken the final step of actually letting kids bring their devices. We are at the tipping point and I cannot wait to see what happens.
My school is in the dark-ages as far as this topic goes as we still ban cell phones in the classroom. I saw a wonderful use for cell phones in my daughter’s university class last semester when students used their phones to respond to questions the professor posted during class. What a great formative/diagnostic tool that could be!
One of the advantages blogs have over other online options is that they can be much more personal. I want the work my students to do to be meaningful to them and see a blog which includes highlights, accomplishments, and reflections as being of great value especially if it’s shared with peers.
Oops! I posted my blog comment here in error.
As part of a revamping of the technology plan in our district we are looking at BYOD. Right now students are not allowed to bring devices to school and phones are discouraged. Schools in the district are in the process of becoming wireless. It is a long process but I am interested in seeing how this initiative will pan out.
Student’s and staff are encouraged not to buy their own tech (such as appletv units) not due to security/reimbursement issues but issues surrounding our wireless internet capabilities & bandwidth/speed problems. These devices need to be supported by a stronger/faster internet connection before a school as big as ours (2000+ students &100+ staff) can sustain effective use.
BOYD is a debatable venture in the world of e-learning. But what encourages it on the long run is the fast pace of technology. It makes it inevitable in some fields of education.
Hussain
BYOD holds a lot of promise as it opens the chances for students to engage in ubiquitous learning and extending their learning beyond the classroom. Giving students the chance to continually learn and be engaged in their learning will enhance their learning and move their understanding to deeper levels.
I recently returned to a Markham public school after teaching internationally for the past 2.5 years. I was awe-struck when the classroom teacher asked the students to take down the notes on the board, and I saw a group of students come up to the board with their cell phones and snap a picture of the notes! The students who didn’t do this had been taking notes at their desks on their tablets or netbooks and laptops. Students were personalizing their learning with the devices that best suited their learning styles. I think that this is definitely the way to go considering the fast pace of today’s technology- students are investing in it at home anyways; our public schools cannot afford to keep up with the latest changes, so why not allow the students to BYOD?
BYOD holds promise for students to be engaged and it can be cost effective, but for a small organisation like ours the challenges are:
1. creating good connectivity and access across platforms and
2. how to effectively develop courses that integrate the use of the devices for learning, and not just result in learners being able to access their emails or multitasking irrelevant to the learning at hand.
I wish my school was moving in the direction of BYOD! It seems as though it is a recent trend in the more developed countries. At my school, students are not allowed to take any form of devices to school, however they still do especially since internet access is readily available. BYOD has its advantages and disadvantages, however, as an educator of Info Tech, I do allow students to use their devices in my class to integrate with the lesson being taught which brings about a more collaborative lesson; one which holds a discovery appraoch to it as well. In other words, students are more involved with its use as teaching and learning take place in a creative fashion!
Shawn Naomi
I think our devices are becoming evenly more deeply entrenched as an extension of ourselves, so it makes the most sense that our own devices are the primary tool to engage in our learning environments. On a practical note, my school was selected to be first in the district for a hardware refresh cycle. Our prize, 5 year old recycled off lease computers… My students phones seem to have more computing power than the “new” machines we just acquired. A BYOD may be the only way to solve the political and administrative nightmare of connecting students digitally.
BYOD is certainly an issue for the corporation I work for, but it also present a possibility of expanding our classroom horizon to include a student response system that utilizes common smartphone and personal electronic devices as input instrument.
Just today I received an e-mail from our district tech guys letting the staff know that our students now will have access to the school’s wireless internet and they have just received their own wifi password and the teachers have theirs. This will be a new venture for our school to see how the students and teachers work with this new found freedom.
My only concern with BYOD is that the underpriviledged students who can’t afford iPhones etc, will be left out in the dark. In my school, there are quite a few students living below the poverty level.
I’m curious to see how the next few months before the summer holidays will unfold and how each individual teacher will deal with the fact that the students will have constant access to the internet. Certain teachers don’t allow cell phones in class while they’re teaching so I predict that we will need a few staff meetings to decide how we’re going to handle the situation.
We are in the midst of implementing BYOD on our secondary school in our school board and I am a member of the planning and implementation team. It has been a whirlwind ‘ride’ to date but nonetheless has proven to be exciting times. Although I am involved in all aspects of the project, my core focus is the ‘pedagogical’ use of BYOD. The goals are to facilitate ‘transformed practice’ with the use of technology in the classroom. We must go beyond the first step of ‘digitizing our current practices’ to truly adapting our teaching practices to maximize the potential afforded to us by these technologies, and this will have a significant impact on how we deliver content, how we assess students and how we collaborate to achieve our end goals.
According to Technorati, the blog count reached 80 million last year. Even though a quarter of them are most likely bot-created spam blogs, the quantity of content ‘in the cloud’ is still staggering. Blogs give everyone a voice to communicate, teach, spout opinions, learn and network. And with RSS technology, blog posts are quickly pushed […]
Continue reading Blogs Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
I find that blogging is a good way to see one’s personal development as we can see how one’s knowledge, understanding or perspective grew as we review the older posts and compared them to the newer ones.
Karon
I am looking into developing blogs as a learning log in our school. We have students matched with advisors at a 10:1 ratio, and I would like to see students and teachers blogging in association with our habits of mind/approaches to learning standards. Students and teachers would give each other feedback on learning, and the blog would be used for reporting on student progress.
I am currently using a blog as a website for access to information for my students, and as a place for asynchronous discussions (also in a Moodle site). I am interested in seeing how blogging and online discussions can be used to foster metacognition.
One of the advantages blogs have over other online options is that they can be much more personal. I want the work my students to do to be meaningful to them and see a blog which includes highlights, accomplishments, and reflections as being of great value especially if it’s shared with peers
As part of my technology position this year I have introduced Kidblog to grades 2 – 6. It has been well received by students and teachers in general. Grades 3 – 6 are integrating blogs across the curriculum.
I just visited an amazing art education blog that some might be interested in. It’s at: http://www.amiria.co.nz/artist/ It was shortlisted for the best new blog in the Edublog awards.
Blogs are simple idea that help students digitally write and author their own material. Students become their own distributors/publishers and make sharing and peer reviews more possible.
I use WordPress and Blogger with my junior computer class and they really enjoy it. I find that it is a great way to promote creative writing and to get the students communicating with and learning about each other.
Since I’ve became a stay-at-home mom, I’m become an avid blog reader and intermittently have written or produced art materials for blogs. Blogs provide so much flexibility, both for teachers and students, and blogging can really hone writing skills and creativity (verbal and/or artistic). I’ve made some friends on blogging platforms – something I never imagined could happen – and that sense of community is a terrific way to discuss ideas.
Since this is my first experience with blogs within a more formal learning environment, I am very much excited in seeing what they have to offer – again within the adult learning community. I am particularly interested in how these learning environments can be made more holistic in nature.
I thin that blogs are underrated in K-6 schools. Most often security and additional issues is cited as being the reason for not using them. However, I think that they provide invaluable opportunity for expresion, feedback and reflection.
I have been keen to integrate blogs into vocational training. I have experienced the use of blogs in courses for personal use and reflection eg. portfolios and feel that this is a limited use. I am looking forward to seeing how effectively a blog can be used as a collaborative learning environment.
Blogging has been around for quite sometime, however it is through MET I’ve become more aware of it. I have been experimenting a bit with my grade 6 students. I find that blogging can be interactive, allowing them to leave a comment and even a message to each other. Its also a way to build social relations with readers and other bloggers. I do find that the passive learners who would never raise a hand in class to speak, are the ones who tend to blog more and have much to say when replying to a comment on the site. It tells me that blogging allows for creative writing skills to be developed. Integrating blog in the learning environment is a step in the right direction!
Shawn Naomi
The Visual-Intensive Learning (VIL) marketplace recognizes the rapid trend away from text-intensive information environments to visually-dominated web experiences that is apparent on most web sites but is championed most specifically by sites such as YouTube and Pinterest, as well as immersive collaborative environments and games. The concept of a “visual learner” is not new, but […]
Continue reading Visual-Intensive Learning Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
Visual literacy is quickly becoming equal in importance to textual literacy as we embrace technology and the ability to share images, video, animation, and graphics for communication. Educational institutions will meet the needs of todays learners by rapidly adjusting and integrating visually stimulating new media for learning in the classroom.
The need for visual literacy both in terms of meaning-making and creating is more pressing and belongs in a larger information and communication technology framework aimed at preparing learners (as well as immersing them in) digital learning, social and work-related environments.
Personal experience with student creation of videos and other visual representations of learning in the sciences has emphasized the incredible importance of this tool. Allowing the student to become the teacher produces far more learning and using technology only enhances this greatly. Remixing existing digital information from a variety of sources into a visually stimulating presentation by students to students produces meaningful learning, especially when done in collaboration with others.
As someone who is very interested in the visual arts, I have already experienced (self-guided) learning through visually intensive websites. While text-based learning can become very dry, image and video-based curriculum materials provide added visual interest that help to capture student attention.
From my experience as an ESL/ELSA teacher, this tool has become a must in the field. It is indispensable in the world of adult education. To be fair,actually I should say it is indispensable in the world of education in general.
Hussain
Learning visually with videos, images, games, VRs etc are more efficient and directer than learning with texts. It’s natually cross-languages and cross-ages. Although visual-based learning is often more expensive than text-based learning, thinking the creation, transmission and presentation, I have no doubt, with the help of developing technologies, that VIL would play a dominant role in the future education.
The Visual-Intensive Learning (VIL) marketplace is of great interest to me as a visual learner. Before embarking on this MET program I knew of few ways or tools to visually communicate my ideas and share my learning. Based on my experience within text-based asynchronous forums, I recognize how important it is to supplement these with visually-dominated web experiences.
I find it exciting to think that I will be exploring and perhaps designing ‘visual’ learning ventures, allowing me to at once build on my web experience and perhaps contribute to the world of educational technology.
Visual learning is certainly not a debateable topic. It has a rightful place in the learning environment with children and like wise with adult learners. Institutions need to be up to speed with such form of technology if they wish to continue meeting the needs of our versatile learners.
Insurance concept has always been a difficult concept to learn due to its complexity and numerous rules and regulations, which is especially true for students with an ESL background; this challenging learning is enhanced when visual representations are used just so that it forms a ground for big picture for details to build on.
In an online world of resources and endless information, visual-intensive interfaces allow learners to quickly scan through massive amounts of information without being overwhelmed by text. Pictures, symbols and numbers allow learners to scan sites like Pinterest and quickly focus on the areas that resonate with them based on various criteria such as visual image, category, and peer rating.
The learning commons, sometimes called an “information commons,” has evolved from a combination library and computer lab into a full-service learning, research, and project space. As a place where students can meet, talk, study, and use “borrowed” equipment, the Modern Learning Commons brings together the functions of libraries, labs, lounges, and seminar areas in a […]
Continue reading Modern Learning Commons Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
The link above is broken but I may have found the correct article here: http://www.educause.edu/Resources/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAbouttheMo/227141
I am going solo on this one I think. I believe we need to attempt to connect face to face with others when the opportunity presents itself. For example, there are a few other MET students in Victoria that I have met with at a local pub during courses. With our laptops and a pint in hand, we manage to have significant MET conversations and use each other as sounding boards in a way that can only be done face to face.
For the University level students coffeeshops/pubs are already taking up this endeavour but there may still be a market for a style or franchise that nails this demographic. Study lounge by day and a night life hub at night. A place of work and play, sounds fun right?
A PG model will need to be set up for public middle and high schools. I do not know what it would to look like but I do know that brick and mortar schools with row by row seating, are not conducive to the types of learning I see coming in the future.
Tablets, game systems, smart phones and application like Siri all suggest a trend away from the inefficiencies of the keyboard for virtual interactions. Touch, Gesture & Voice are some of the more “natural” ways learners will access and immerse themselves in learning experiences. Opportunity Statement Learning technologies venture opportunities in Touch, Gesture & Voice are bountiful in that […]
Continue reading Touch, Gesture & Voice Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
We are implementing a 1:1 technology plan with iPads starting in 2012 and these tools provide many of the gestures, voice, and touch tools that learners are familiar with, but I think that the spaces they learn in also represent areas for development in tactile and voice interactivity.
As of September, 2012, each of the federally run tertiary institutions will require all new students to purchase an iPads in an effort to “transform higher education in the UAE so that students are motivated and engaged in their own intellectual development and achieve higher standards of success” leaving faculty with the intimidating yet thrilling task of learning how to use the iPad as a pedagogical device.
I am presently at a 1:1 school where they are also offering Ipads to teachers who are wiling to investigate their classroom use. I am a math teacher with a science background and I value learning through doing. This is not always easy in math, but I think that there is something out there that can help the students immerse themselves in learning rather than spectating. Using other senses can only make learning more interesting which in turn fosters curiosity.
This is probably the subject that is of most interest to me. Because I am interested in a holistic approach to online teaching and learning, the idea of being able to complement text-based asynchronous forums with touch, gesture and voice elements is exciting. Finding adequate design applications that provide these elements within course design or LM sytems would certainly be a challenge – but well worthwhile!
This is the area in which I would be most interested in.
Currently, I am advocating class sets of iPads for my K-6 school, as I see the use of touch and voice as allowing learners to beome more actively engaged.
Augmented Reality, a capability that has been around for decades, is shifting from what was once seen as a gimmick to a bonafide game-changer. The layering of information over 3D space produces a new experience of the world, sometimes referred to as “blended reality,” and is fueling the broader migration of computing from the desktop […]
Continue reading Augmented and Blended Reality Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
During my undergraduate years, I have done a project based on augmented reality before and I am highly interested in this 3D application. I believe that augmented reality is definitely opportunistic for my career as I work in healthcare and having our learners learn through this 3D space would help them visualize realistic scenarios better and it will be more effective than showing videos which is the common practice at the moment for nurses.
Karon
I think that in todays busy world, augmented and blended realities are important because they act as a support system for those individuals involved. Because people crave this support, these realities can be very opportunistic.
I think natural science museums and science centres could bring their educational programming to life with augmented reality by providing information about specimens (minerals, animal and insect specimens, skulls…) and other samples.
Augmented reality would be very useful for lessons in fields covering concrete topics like geography, physical education, and engineering. Public health and pharmacy organisations could benefit too.
I believe that this has huge potential in the future! This will allow our devices to be smart and instanteously respond to us within context. It will provide instant information about our surroundings based on our programmed preferences and needs. My students already see physics everywhere they look, but imagine if their devices were pointing out levers, fulcrums, electromagnetic waves, etc. and providing additional information within context. The world would become your classroom, literally!
Most people prefer to tackle the majority of their continuing learning objectives independently or informally in professional groups, as Self-Guided Learning. Additionally, the availability and affordability of qualified teachers and accessible learning environments can’t nearly meet the global demand for higher and better educational opportunities. Opportunity Statement Venture opportunities exist in a vibrant global marketplace […]
Continue reading Self-Guided Learning Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
A simple idea with huge market potential. Lynda.com generated $70 million without one formal course – just resources for self-guided learning (http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/03/lynda-70m/).
The potential for self guided learning within a supported environment for younger learners will respond to the needs of home instructors. Creating the content, providing tutoring, supplying accreditation is a potential work environment for under-paid, under-employed educators.
When working with students who struggle with learning in many ways for various reasons the power of self guided learning becomes clear. For many students (and teacher) being able to work through material in a different environment, at their own speed and at the pace that suits them best is ideal. Creating such educational worlds is the key.
Self-guided learning is a very engaging a exciting concept. While many aspiring students might feel the constraints of formal education, self-guided learning provides an interesting option for individuals who might not have time, resources or other necessary elements to engage in furthering their education.
An ultimate goal for me following this MET prgram, would be to work within an organization that provides higher learning opportunities around the world. I recognize that for many countries, paying for qualified teachers is near impossible and there are few accessible learning environments students can afford.
I would love to work on a venture that explores self-guided and self-paced learning opportunities for adults. The challenge would be to create a learning environment, including content and curriculum that is culturally sensitive. I would particularly like to work on content and curriculum.
Recognition of the importance of 21st Century Skills continues to grow, particularly in the area of competencies across digitally-rich domains involving communications, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. Higher education and employers are seeking systematic ways to support and evaluate the acquisition of these skills. Opportunity Statement A set of 21st Century Skills venture opportunities exists […]
Continue reading 21st Century Skills Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
Our district is really pushing the 21st century skills and I see their vision as progressive and necessary in preparing our children for future careers.
Employers across all sectors are pushing for the 21 century skills and looking at educational institutions to prepare recent grads better in this area.
In our conceptual age success in adult life is dependent on 21st century skills including: critical thinking, problems solving, collaboration, communication, and creativity with creativity being of particular importance.
Our district is also pushing 21st century skills. I am on the district committee who is in the process of developing policy, teacher Pd. We are in the process of getting the message out to all schools in our district. Technology is a piece however the 4c’s is the foundation of the strategy. It is an interesting process.
Valerie
21st century skills is also very big in school district 41. Many schools have 21st century goups who meet on a regular basis to discuss how best to implement and support this.
Ever since being introduced to NETS for teachers and students, 21st century learning has held great interest for me. Clearly it is also a focus of the BC Ministry of Education as is evidenced by the Premier’s Technology Council Report on 21st Century Learning. However, what is lacking in the Ministry directives is strategies for implementation. I do, however, see great potential for ‘new ventures’ in this area, for when government shows interest in something, there is often funding to back it up. I would really enjoy exploring opportunities within this market as it seems to have the most potential for “consumers” – at least in regards to my own career.
Along with our BYOD, Google Apps for Education and new portal, it goes without saying that the consideration of 21 century skills are core to the success of these initiatives. The “4Cs” should be integrated into current practices, not as ‘another’ thing the teacher must add to their content, but in the ‘way’ they deliver their content and collaborate with students. Personally, I have concluded (although unofficially and certainly not finalized) that the success of TIC integration relies on 3 components: hardware / infrastructure, the services and the practices/content. My thoughts on this are based on the work of Sangra & Bates (triangulation). I firmly believe that 21 century skills are essential to maximize the use technologies in learning. Putting the infrastructure, the services and the content in place are only part of the puzzle – the ‘way’ in which we use them for an effective pedagogy is the other piece of the puzzle.
As brilliant as most software and apps might seem, they are still severely awareness-disabled, meaning they don’t know and can’t respond to simple user contexts such as who I am, where I am, what grade I’m in, what class this is, what level I’ve achieved, what my learning style is, etc. The objective of Aware […]
Continue reading Aware Software Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
Imagine your personal digital learning butler, admin assistant and digital desk organizer rolled into one digital environment. Equentia has the beginnings of this for the private sector. Educators should apply this form of curating, monitoring, aggregating, annotexting, re-publishing tool to their personal and professional learning environments. Aware software for students will enhance and expand their learning potential.
Companies like IBM are building “Smart Cities” based on distributed sensors in roads, pipe, etc, providing feedback to control systems. This is part of a general emerging market called the Internet of Things (IoT) where heretofore inanimate, mute objects are becoming part of an intelligent, active, behind-the-scenes conversation. So what about “Smart Schools”, where the […]
Continue reading The Internet of Things Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll While tablet and smart phone manufacturers are churning forward at a breakneck pace, making a fortune on humanity’s device-lust, the compelling back-story is what these devices can do – the proliferation of Apps. And while addiction and burn-out on the distracting nature of most apps is already big news, there is also a rapid […]
Continue reading Apps Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
Applications for education hold a promise in that with the amount of apps that are being created teachers and students have access to learning aids and further information. Educators are able to make personalized applications that students can use to meet their needs and students are also able to experiment with creating applications that serve their needs. With the inclusion of BYOD and Self-Guided Learning, apps will open students to opportunities for furthering their chances to extend and continually learn.
A high school History Department in Markham recently invested in a class set of iPads. The reason? The apps. There are so many educational apps available for a variety of disciplines that teachers cannot afford to ignore the educational value they can add to their classrooms. From World War I and II re-enactment apps to online History journals that teachers can add to the iPad for students to access during research periods – the possibilities are endless. At the same school students in the Communications Technology department are working with the History Department cross-curricularly to design apps related to History course content. Brilliant.
Cloud Learning is about employing essentially limitless web-based storage and services (the “cloud”) to enhance the learning experience with unprecedented accessibility, continuity, extensibility and integration. Most analysts believe that humanity’s move from computers to the cloud will be more transformational than our recent move from paper to computers. Opportunity Statement While it may seem that most […]
Continue reading Learning in the Cloud Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
As we struggle with server space and anywhere access to information I see the cloud as the way of the future. My family and I own numerous technological devices and I like to access my files on any device wherever I happen to be, in the house, or on the go.
With the rate of change of technology, I think that computers will become devices for linking to the internet, rather than for housing and running software. As more of what we do individually becomes housed in the cloud, educational technology will follow suit.
As school budgets continue to be cut, cloud computing has the potential to save school boards money. In addition, students won’t have to worry about forgetting to send themselves a file to work on at home; their files will be accessible from anywhere.
I am curious to know where these real savings might occur? Students will still require computer hardware to connect to the cloud, and servers may be fewer and in centralized locations, rather than each school, but they will have to be a larger capacity. Just wondering. What are your thoughts?
The sky’s the limit – the potential to connect communities of learners from across the globe is enabled by cloud computing. Time zones, synchronicity and location are irrelevant. Learners working on projects can create, collaborate and connect in ways that were not possible before i-clouds and sky drives.
True collaborative work is possible with cloud technology. No longer do students need to share one computer to do a PowerPoint assignment or play e-mail tag with the file. They can edit the same presentation at the same time. The cloud concept is amazing … as long as there is internet access.
The extreme adaptibility of working in the cloud to almost any time, place and circumstance makes this a tool worth using and exploring. The ability to work from any computer both synchronously and asychronously is invaluable for knowledge generation and review. The reduction in stress on local servers is very important.
This is definatley the way things are moving, I would love to get rid of my flash drive and external hard drive and have all my documents, files etc available from any computer any place in the world. Security and safety of confidental data are things that come to mind though!
The “cloud” frees people from the physical devices and give flexibility as to how and what they use to create and present. The simple Dropbox has made my personal work easier since it allows me to create on my Mac and present using Windows based student response systems. I can see how the cloud helps the integration of tools such as Ipads and other mobile technology.
Yes I believe Cloud Learning will reform the education, with unbounded environment, converged content, ubiquitous & seamless access. Since the reformation is big, the chances in it will be big too for ventures who will help this trend
Cloud learning has the potential to allow students and teachers to continually have access to learning material and content. In the move towards ubiquitous learning and the potential to always be engaged in learning activities the use of cloud computing increases the flexibility of learning for student learning and teacher delivery.
Though I am totally in agreement that this is the most practical evolutionary step for computing, I am hesitant to dive in considering privacy/digital ownership concerns. Once your family photos, etc. are loaded to “the cloud” who then owns them? What safeguards are in place to protect your information and privacy?
Game-Based Learning seeks to apply the technologies and engagement factors of the hyper-successful electronic games sector, and of games more generally, to create effective learning experiences. This includes everything from the creation of original games with learning outcomes embedded in the gameplay (“serious games”) to the game-like animation (“gamification”) of more traditional learning approaches . Opportunity […]
Continue reading Learning with Games Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
I am working on a Minecraft project in which we have set up a Minecraft server and have students from other countries playing with us. This project is very much under development, but we have already had students complete project work using Minecraft, and we hope to run lessons on Minecraft in the fall.
I’m interested in both the idea of gamification as a style of teaching and the use of games in subjects that are perceived as intimidating like science and math.
Game-based learning is one which excites me and my students. Some individuals such as parents may think educators waste time when gaming is used in the classroom, but little do they know it does enhance learning and engage the students fully! Students do take charge of their learning where Game-based is concerned.
I think games that simulate real-world experiences have great potential, especially in the business courses I teach. I already use a game that simulates running a company where students must make decisions about pricing, number of units to produce and research and development costs. Student engagement during the activity, which lasts a couple of months, always exceeds my expectations.
As a computer lab facilitator at the hospital, I have taught with both self-directed online modules and a Medication Safety game designed for healthcare disciplines. In my experience, I have witnessed how some of my learners struggled dealing with the self-directed online modules which led to a state where my learners were less motivated to complete them. On the other hand, those who used the Medication Safety game showed better learning results and have derived greater enjoyment from it. Compared to the online modules, the Medication Safety game was designed with less text reading. I am interested in exploring further in regards to learning with games and see whether game play would benefit learners within the healthcare structure.
Karon
The idea of learning without realizing that you are doing so since you are enjoying the process is incredibly powerful, particularly for youth who expect everything in life to be simple and fun! Whether the games are designed for education or are simply applied in the correct way, the potential inherent in gaming is intriguing.
Earlier this term, my programming students started to create games for Windows and the Xbox 360 using Visual C# and XNA. Students used creative problem-solving and decision-making skills working on the project; they were also much more engaged in game making than traditional delivery of programming. Next year, the plan is to polish the polish the product and possibly sell them on the Xbox Live Community.
I love the idea of Learning With Games but I have struggled with its application. I have tried the middle school math game, “Lure of the Labryrinth” which did not interest my students….but I thought it was a nice try. I am convinced that games can help with understanding math/science.
Game-based learning is one of my passion, and I truly believe, from my personal experience that game-based learning results in high knowledge retention as the curriculum I deliver with associated game generally would result in better test scores in that segment as well as more positive student feedbacks.
A Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) is an emerging model for interactive online learning experiences designed to accommodate possibly unlimited numbers of learners who potentially arrive, attend, participate, and leave on their own terms. MOOCs can take advantage of existing social media and gaming environments as platforms to host both formal and informal learning experiences. Opportunity Statement […]
Continue reading Massively Open Online Courses Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
Stanford, MIT, and Harvard (http://www.edxonline.org/) have fully jumped in. MOOCs are disruptive in higher learning, not in the future, but right now.
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mariefrancehetu 2:54 am on June 16, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hello David,
I have several questions conerning the formatting for assignment 1:
– Are we expected to use APA style?
– Is it possible to have some point form (bullets) within the venture analysis?
– Also, is it possible to include links directly embedded in the analysis?
– Are footnotes acceptable, or are you expecting traditional referencing?
Thank you so much,
Marie-France
David Vogt 6:59 am on June 16, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Marie-France –
Thanks for asking.
You may use APA style, but it is not necessary. Your objective is to compose and format A1 in whatever style that best conveys the integrity and force of your analysis. So bullet points, links, footnotes, etc, are all fine. Your analysis could also be a text-free video if it conveys your message well.
Good luck!
David